Who pays for the sewer lateral in Mission Springs Water District, CA
Which part of the pipe is yours
Yours all the way to the main under the road
Why, and what to do
If something’s wrong
If a repair needs a permit or an inspection
- Who issues it:
- Mission Springs Water District, with the sewer opening permit issued by the City of Desert Hot Springs or the County of Riverside
- What it covers:
- making a connection to a public sewer, and connecting a sewer lateral to it
Mission Springs Water District's sewer ordinance provides that "No person shall make a connection to any Public Sewer without first obtaining a written application for sewer service from the District and paying all fees". The work itself needs a sewer opening permit from the City of Desert Hot Springs or the County, whichever is the land use agency, and the District will not inspect a connection until "the sewer opening permit has been issued by the City or County, whichever is the appropriate land use agency". Then "No sewer lateral shall be connected to the Public Sewer until the work covered by the sewer opening permit is completed, inspected and approved by an Inspector acting for the District".
Buying or selling?
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Planning work?
The remodelling rule in full, with its sourcesWho to call first about the sewer lateral
Mission Springs Water District: official site(opens in a new tab)The documents this answer is built on
Who is responsible for which part
In Desert Hot Springs the whole sewer lateral, from the building to the District's main, is the property owner's. Mission Springs Water District, which runs the sewer system in the city, keeps the public sewer. Its sewer ordinance defines the building sewer as "That portion of the sewer system extending from the building drain to the public sewer, including the sewer lateral and cleanout", and provides that "The User shall bear the burden and all expenses related to maintenance and repair or replacement of the Building Sewer". Many properties in the city are not on the sewer at all: the District says "There were over 5,000 septic systems on record with MSWD as of 2012", and it has a programme to connect them.
- The property owner
- The whole building sewer, from the building drain to the District's public sewer, including the lateral under the street and the cleanout. The ordinance places the lateral inside the building sewer, as "That portion of a Building Sewer extending from the Public Sewer to the property line or easement line", and the user of the property, the person owning or controlling it, bears its maintenance, repair and replacement, with any backwater valve. Whoever applies to connect also agrees to "maintain the building sewer at no expense to the District." The ordinance does not say who owns the fitting where the lateral joins the main.
What else is worth knowing
Sources
Mission Springs Water District Code, Title 6 (Sewer), chapter 6.02, the Sewer Service OrdinanceWhat the rules say
Most relevant if you are selling or buying
No rule on file here is specific to selling or buying; that does not mean none exists.
Also in force here
- Who issues it:
- Mission Springs Water District, with the sewer opening permit issued by the City of Desert Hot Springs or the County of Riverside
- What it covers:
- making a connection to a public sewer, and connecting a sewer lateral to it
Mission Springs Water District's sewer ordinance provides that "No person shall make a connection to any Public Sewer without first obtaining a written application for sewer service from the District and paying all fees". The work itself needs a sewer opening permit from the City of Desert Hot Springs or the County, whichever is the land use agency, and the District will not inspect a connection until "the sewer opening permit has been issued by the City or County, whichever is the appropriate land use agency". Then "No sewer lateral shall be connected to the Public Sewer until the work covered by the sewer opening permit is completed, inspected and approved by an Inspector acting for the District".
What to do: Before connecting a building to Mission Springs Water District's sewer, or relaying a lateral where that means reconnecting to it, apply to the District for sewer service and pay its fees, get the sewer opening permit from the City of Desert Hot Springs, and a street permit if the street will be dug, and ask the District who will inspect the work - its ordinance names its own inspector, its installation page the City or County. Give the District at least 24 hours' notice, weekends and holidays excluded, when the pipe is ready, leave it uncovered until it has been inspected and passed, and send the District a copy of the signed inspection card.
Mission Springs Water District Code, Title 6 (Sewer), section 6.02.030, Use of Public SewersWhy this matters
The connection waits on two bodies, the District and the City or County, and on an inspection. The ordinance has the applicant "notify the District twenty-four (24) hours in advance, Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays excluded, when the Building Sewer is ready for inspection", with inspection on weekdays between 7:00am and 3:30pm and overtime at the owner's expense. The District's sewer service installation page describes the same step differently: there the City or County, as the land use agency, inspects the work and signs off an inspection card, and the owner sends a copy of the signed card to the District, which then completes the connection in its records. Digging in a street needs a third permit: "A separate permit must be secured from the agency having jurisdiction over any public street or right-of-way in which an Owner or Contractor intends to make an alteration or excavation". All costs of installing and connecting the building sewer are the owner's, and "The District may require the installation of an approved backwater valve".
What this page cannot tell you
- No assistance or grant programme has been reviewed for this jurisdiction yet.
Who governs and serves this area
- Jurisdiction
- Mission Springs Water District (special district)
- Sewer service
Where else this answer applies
The same authorities settle this in the place below too:
It gets its answer from the same authorities.
How this compares to neighbouring districts
1 of the 4 nearest districts draws the line somewhere else. Each authority publishes only its own rule.
Nearby districts and further reading
Look up a specific address
This page describes what applies to properties in Mission Springs Water District in general. To see which authorities serve one address, and what records exist for it, search for it.
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